Hoon gives new twist to Iraq war timetable
Geoff Hoon’s evidence to the Iraq inquiry is sharing the QE2 centre in Westminster with a conference of anaesthetists.
Mr Hoon himself started his evidence session admitting that he’d spent a large chunk of a 2002 TV interview on Iraq “trying to say nothing”. That said, we’ve had a new twist to the timetable of war from the former defence secretary.
Mr Hoon told the inquiry that a paper was prepared for Tony Blair to take to the April 2002 Crawford summit listing the three military options for the UK if it joined in with the US attack on Iraq.
The most limited, plan one, allowed the US to use British bases in Diego Garcia and Cyprus, the middle option was to give air and sea support but no troops on the ground, option three was British troops – a full armoured division – on the ground.
Geoff Hoon said he believes that Tony Blair at that summit asked for access to the US military preparations, seconding someone to the US planning operation at Tampa Florida, but the US seems to have resisted that approach until the end of July.
The inquiry team has picked up from military witnesses that the US military had the strong impression that the UK would be with them with troops come the invasion.
Sir Roderick Lyne referred yet again to the private letters that Tony Blair sent President Bush, which he clearly thinks gave the president the clear idea that Britain would fight alongside the US.
Geoff Hoon paints a picture of the US in September 2002 planning on the basis that the UK will not be involved.
Mr Hoon sent a letter on 29 September to No. 10 saying decision time between the three options was upon them… two days later, according to his memory of events, on 31 September, the government decided that British military involvement would be option three.
And yet, Mr Hoon himself admitted in his evidence earlier today that the Prime Minister “wanted us to be involved to the maximum extent…”
Plenty of loose ends still for Tony Blair to tie up next week if he fancies it.
Two weeks after his attempted Westminster coup, Geoff Hoon spoke about a paper he’d written on the dangers of toppling a hated tyrant when you don’t know who is going to replace him, but I checked and he was definitely referring to Iraq.
Related: The Dutch Iraq inquiry concludes war had no legal basis
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